WWF-India presents ‘Cards4tigers Campaign’ postcards to the strike force of Pakke Tiger Reserve, Arunachal Pradesh, India

The Strike Force of Pakke Tiger Reserve is a rapid response force setup to quickly respond to emergency situations. It consists of 16 members comprising of ex-army personnel and local youth. They are specially trained in guerrilla warfare and jungle survival techniques. Each member is equipped with a rifle and a wireless handset. Unlike other forest guard teams, the Strike Force sets out to patrol the forests for a stretch of 10-15 days in one go, carrying their supplies on their back, and camping in different places every night. Their training makes them experts at responding to emergency situations, and no matter where they are in the forest; they are always at call to assist other forest guard teams in demanding situations.

WWF recently launched an international campaign called Cards4tigers which profiles rangers and forest guards from seven countries – Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal and Thailand and highlights the hard work they undertake under difficult conditions to protect tigers and encourages the general public to send them postcards with messages of support.

WWF-India in consultation with the respective forest departments selected six forest guards and teams from different states in India to feature them in the campaign. The Pakke Strike Force was one such selected team.

At an event held at Seijosa on 15th November 2012 by the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Mr. Tana Tapi, the members of the strike forces were presented with the Cards4tigers postcards with messages from across the world filled with gratitude, appreciation and encouragement for the strike force members for their selfless work for tiger conservation. The postcards were handed over to the leader of the Strike Force team of Pakke. A framed photo of the Union Minister for Forests and Environment, Ms. Jayanthi Natarajan,signing a postcard was presented to the DFO. The minister had signed the postcard at a special event on tiger conservation organised by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and WWF-India at the CBD-COP 11 meeting last month in Hyderabad, alongwith award-winning Indian film star Rana Dagubatti, thereby registering their support to the forest guards.

The Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Seijosa, Mr. Kento Riba graced the event with his presence. He appreciated the efforts of the strike force. Mr. Riba said, "The strike force team of Pakke is fearless and works tirelessly to save the forest and wild animals. They are doing commendable forest protection work and we all appreciate it. The step taken by WWF-India to convey their acknowledgement and gratitude through these cards4tigers postcards is a unique way to acknowledge their dedication. I personally thank the strike force team and want them to continue this noble work in the future for our forests. "

For further information:
Dr. Anupam Sarmah
Head, Assam Landscapes
WWF-India
M: +91 94354 85789
E: asarmah@wwfindia.net

Anil Cherukupalli
Senior Communications Officer
WWF-India
T: +91 11 4150 4783
E: anil.cherukupalli@wwf.panda.org